Mercedes Benz S-klasse S400 Long 4-Matic — Nice

A long-wheelbase Mercedes-Benz S-Class commands a particular kind of respect on the French Riviera — not the attention a supercar draws, but the quieter authority of a car that signals nothing needs to be proven. The S400 Long 4-Matic in our fleet is a 2023 model, finished to the standard you'd expect of the marque's flagship sedan, with permanent all-wheel drive adding composure on rain-slicked corniche roads or the steeper gradients inland toward Vence. This is the car for the arrival that matters. Terminal 2 at the airport to a villa on Cap-Ferrat. A dinner reservation at a Cimiez address where the valet already knows the silhouette. A full day of meetings between Nice and Monaco, where the rear cabin needs to function as a mobile office and the ride quality over 22 kilometres of autoroute should leave a passenger ready to step out composed, not fatigued. The Long variant provides the additional rear legroom that separates utility from genuine comfort — enough space that a second passenger sits without compromise, documents open on the centre console. Rates begin at €500 per day for the single variant we carry. One configuration, chosen deliberately: the 4-Matic drivetrain paired with the extended wheelbase covers the widest range of Riviera conditions, from a January transfer in wet weather to a June evening along the Basse Corniche where the cabin isolates road noise and lets conversation continue at a normal volume. It is not a sports car. It is not trying to be. What it offers instead is the kind of refined, purposeful transport that makes the distance between two points feel shorter and the time inside feel unhurried.